A gentleman par excellence!
The name Somnath Chatterjee is well known, and much of his details are available on the websites. I would skip those.
Living not far away from his home, I knew him for many decades as he was genuinely appreciative of my photography and writing skills. Ours was love, hate relationship, when I had to steer the relocation of Calcutta tanneries, facing closure under the order of the Supreme Court of India. “I wish I could send you to jail,” the tall barrister roared in his baritone voice once, seated as the Chairman of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. I sat quietly that the heat passes over, and he cooled down soon after that to the extent of being apologetic at his outburst, resulting from some hearsay by vested interests. I had to do the explaining, that was admitted.
While being the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, he had agreed to inaugurate my book release and photographic exhibition at the Town Hall, Kolkata but had suddenly taken ill and was admitted to AIIMS, Delhi. The inauguration and the book release had to contend with the Minister of Tourism, Shri Manabendra Mukherjee and Shri GD Gautama, IAS, the then principal secretary to the Govt of West Bengal. I had a pleasant shock, when I received a phone call from Somnath da, still in his hospital bed, lamenting his absence from the book release function.
Later I used to visit his home for a bit of ‘Adda,’ sometimes accompanied by my wife Radha or my daughter Vinita. He used to be very fond of the ‘Semolina Halwa,’ which Radha used to prepare for him with care and love. He would talk to my daughter, urging a youngster like her to take to politics and usher an era of honesty and vibrancy.
I recall carrying with me a photo of Kolkata city on the river Hooghly, taken from the Howrah side and showing it to Somnath da. It was a panorama, stretching from the Howrah Bridge end, panning all the way south to the end of the New Hooghly Bridge, covering Burra Bazar, Dalhousie, the Customs House, Floatel, Eden Gardens, Fort William et al. The picture was unique as many photos were stitched to create the panorama. Thanks to my friend Subha Pal, the river traffic was kept to the barest minimum, and the job could successfully be accomplished, after several earlier attempts.
Somnath da was excited as a child and told me that if I could get him a copy of the photo. I readily handed over the roll to him, which was a miniature size of 12 inches by 168 inches, the original being 64 feet long. I later had forgotten the whole episode, until one afternoon I received a call from Somnath da. He urged me to visit his home in Shanti Niketan as soon as possible. I drove the next day and he with a mischievous smile asked me if I knew the reason for his invitation. He took me to his drawing room, where the photo I had presented was hung. “Just the other day the governor had made a visit and was so happy to see this photo. I had explained to him that it is from my special friend Sampath Kumar,” Somnath da was exuberant! I sat and read out a few poems which he relished as much as Radha’s ‘Semolina Halwa.’
His knees were giving problem, so was his other ailments. The spirit continued to soar high. Deep down, his heart was crushed, feelings pulverized the day he was shown the door by his colleagues.
By the way, Karunanidhi too had died, his body draped in the national flag, his body kept in Rajaji Hall for many hours, to facilitate the mighty leaders from all over the country including the PM to pay their homages, later taken to a burial place on an army truck bedecked with flowers and to ceremonial gun salutes. Despite the heap of corruption charges against Karunanidhi, demands for his conferment of the coveted Bharat Ratna are splitting the air.
Somnath da’s cortege too made its way, more akin to the simple life he practiced, adorned by a flag of Mohun Bagan Club to a hospital, where his eligible organs will be harvested, and his body used for dissection classes. My heart wept too, but the anguish could be nowhere as compared to the octogenarian’s when he was orphaned by the party he nourished to growth.
My salutes to a great Bengali and a gentleman par excellence. Bharat Ratna needn’t be conferred to the true Ratnas, Somnath da was one such!
Sampath Kumar
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